


Watson Brewer’s Ten-Point Plan for Being an Awesome (Future) Stepdad

by laulan



Category: The Baby-Sitters Club (TV 2020)
Genre: Family Bonding, Gen, Getting to Know Each Other, Second marriage, Siblings, Step-parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:41:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28146990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laulan/pseuds/laulan
Summary: Watson knows blending their families won't be easy, but itwillbe worth it. Right?
Relationships: Elizabeth Thomas Brewer/Watson Brewer, Watson Brewer & Charlie Thomas, Watson Brewer & Kristy Thomas, Watson Brewer & Thomas Kids
Comments: 22
Kudos: 79
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	Watson Brewer’s Ten-Point Plan for Being an Awesome (Future) Stepdad

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kindness](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kindness/gifts).



> Happy Yuletide, Kindness <3 I hope you enjoy! Your Watson and Kristy prompts were really sweet, so I thought I'd explore the Watson + Thomases dynamic here and see where it took me. A little less Kristy-focused specifically, but hopefully still satisfying nonetheless!
> 
> Also, a quick note to all: no need to strain to read the points in the picture below, as they are listed a second time in the fic itself (and in alt-text image description). :)

_1\. Be patient. It might take the kids some time to warm up. Remind yourself every time you worry that any ups and downs are all just part of the process._

“Any ups and downs are part of the process,” Watson told himself, gripping the steering wheel. He inhaled and exhaled slowly, then repeated with more emphasis, “Any ups and downs are part of the process. Any ups and downs are just _part of the process._ ”

The words really weren’t as reassuring as he’d imagined they’d be when he’d written them in his Ten-Point Plan for Being an Awesome (Future) Stepdad, though. Namely because he’d never thought that any of Liz’s kids would have such an adverse reaction to news of the engagement, such that he was now wondering if he would _ever_ be allowed to be more than Mom’s Husband.

His shoulders twitched as he remembered Sam’s silence, Charlie's hushed “What did you say?”, and Kristy’s impassioned, wavering voice. David Michael had been quiet, but one out of four on board—or not actively against, at least—did not a successful family blending make. He felt a pang sharply under his breastbone, and gave voice to the groan that had been building since that first deer-in-the-headlights reaction from the kids. He even let himself tip his head back against the headrest and close his eyes.

But after a moment of wallowing, he sat back up and shook his head. He repeated, “Any ups and downs are part of the process,” calmly, then added, “And this is normal—I’ll just have to keep trying.”

This time, the words sparked determination in him, and he felt the dramatic despair slipping away. He’d said the same to Liz outside the door to their house, when she was trying to apologize for Kristy’s outburst.

He’d known going in that this wouldn’t be easy—but that didn’t mean it wasn’t worth it. He and Liz were going to c _rush_ being a blended family. It was just going to take some time.

_2\. Be consistent about cheerfully offering opportunities to connect, but don’t overwhelm them. As time goes on, increase the offers slowly until everyone feels joyfully welcomed into the family._

“Karen, Andrew, and I are going to the park tomorrow after I pick them up,” Watson said. “Any takers for coming with? We were thinking of bringing the ping pong paddles and hitting the communal tables—whaddya say?”

“ _Wow,_ kids, that sounds super fun!” Liz said, turning to look at her four over the dinner table with a bright encouraging smile. Kristy was still quiet after her eruption from a few days ago, and was pushing peas around her plate with determined obliviousness; Charlie and Sam had matching blank looks; and David Michael was watching Kristy and chewing slowly. “Who wants to go with Watson, Karen, and Andrew?”

“I’m babysitting for the Crewel-Longs,” Kristy said, without looking up from her peas. Watson thought she probably was telling the truth, if only because she was a proven terrible liar.

“Hockey practice,” Sam blurted out.

“Ah, Spanish test, sorry,” Charlie added, and gave an insincere apologetic shrug.

Watson tried not to feel too disappointed at those two obvious lies. Sam’s next hockey practice, noted in Watson’s day planner, wasn’t until the following week, and Liz had mentioned Charlie had a Spanish test yesterday. It was unlikely there’d be another one so soon.

But: patience, he reminded himself again, resolutely. Just because the kids were sort of on board with the wedding now, after having a few days to think it over, didn’t mean they’d suddenly be enthused about his offers. He was going to have to keep trying.

David Michael was looking at Kristy with pleading eyes now, but since her gaze was locked on her plate, she didn’t see his obvious cry for help. “I… have to do my taxes?” he tried after a long pause, blinking hopefully at Watson.

Watson had to smother his laugh, and Liz bit back an obvious snort beside him. Kristy had jolted in surprise at David Michael’s words, and was now staring at him in dismay. You could almost see the words ticking by on a chyron under her face: _Did you really think **that** would work?_

“Well lucky for you, David Michael,” said Liz with a sparkling grin, “I’m taking charge of your taxes this year.” The smile softened into something gentler, and she reached out to ruffle David Michael’s hair. “So how about you head to the park with Watson and Karen and Andrew tomorrow?”

“Only if you want to,” Watson hastened to add. “It’s okay if none of you want to come.” He smiled and tried very hard to mean it.

Charlie’s face shimmered with guilt, and Sam bit his lip and dropped his gaze. Kristy looked back at her peas, her eyebrows scrunching down in clear annoyance.

“Okay. I’ll go,” David Michael announced with a sigh, at last.

“Great!” Watson couldn’t help but burst out, relief rushing through him. A tiny victory! He would take it, gladly.

He beamed at David Michael. A chance was a chance, and he wasn’t about to waste his. “I’ll pick you up at two,” he said.

_3\. Enthusiastically support their interests! Each week, check in about how their projects are going (Karen and Andrew’s, too). Note to self: schedule this in day planner._

“So!” Watson said, pulling on a smile. “How’s the Baby-Sitters Club going?”

Kristy gave him a Look. Watson was learning to be an expert in Kristy’s Looks, albeit slowly and painfully. This one said, _Why is this information at **all** relevant to you? I’m suspicious that you’re asking._

“Fine,” was what she said out loud.

“It was great to have Mary Anne the other day,” Watson tried. “She was very professional, and Karen and Andrew loved her.”

Kristy pursed her lips. “Mary Anne is an excellent and extremely qualified babysitter,” she said primly. “So I’m not surprised.”

“No, no, of course not,” Watson hastened to agree. “Um, and how about you? How are your babysitting jobs going? Think you might be able to babysit Karen and Andrew one of these days?” He made sure to cross his fingers out of her sight under the table.

This time, her Look said, _In your **dreams.**_ What she said out loud was, “I’ll have to check our schedule. The BSC prides itself on taking all the jobs we can, so we’re all _very_ busy.”

“Of course,” Watson said, swallowing a sigh. “Of course.”

Well, win some, lose some.

_4\. Get them on your level: share your own interests with them._

“This is just math,” Sam said, sounding utterly betrayed.

“Well, no,” said Watson, “not _just_ math—”

“It’s like math by aliens,” Charlie added glumly.

“It is _not_ ,” said Kristy. Her eyes were locked on the screen, and a badly hidden look of interest flickered on her face. “It’s like an alien _language._ ”

“Yes!” Watson exclaimed, delight blooming in him. “Exactly! And you can talk to computers in it, tell them what to do. Look, I brought this little Raspberry Pi for us to play around with—we could build any kind of machine we want! And I’ll teach you a little more about programming.”

“Could we build a robot?” David Michael said, bouncing on his toes.

“We sure could!” Watson said. He grinned fondly at David Michael, who was currently in an All Robots All the Time phase.

“Cool,” David Michael breathed, looking back at the computer.

“David Michael, weren’t you going to come play soccer in the park with Casey and Jenny Scherwitz?” Kristy asked from behind them. “I’m going to head out in a few minutes for that job.” Her voice had gone a little pinched.

“I wanna build a robot with Watson,” David Michael said, leaning closer to the chip. “I’ll come next time.”

Kristy’s mouth twisted. “Fine,” she muttered. She cast another intrigued look toward the screen where Watson’s script was laid out, and the chip beside it, then shook her head as if shaking off sleep. “Sorry,” she said to Watson, more sincerely than she usually did. “I have to babysit.”

“That’s okay,” Watson said, then added, “maybe next time?” daringly.

“Maybe,” Kristy mumbled, and was out the door before he had time to feel more than a brief burst of astonished triumph.

Smiling hugely, he turned to the older boys. “So, what do you think? Help me and David Michael build a robot?”

“Please?” David Michael added.

“Okay,” Charlie sighed, nudging Sam. “We’ll help. Twenty minutes.”

“Yes!” David Michael trilled; inside, Watson was doing the same.

_5\. Present a united front: check in with Liz weekly about discipline, problems, and how everything’s going._

The wedding was done, the party was done, and Hawaii awaited them for one glorious week and a half. Watson was sitting in the car smiling—he couldn’t help it—while memories from the night flashed behind his eyes like a slideshow. The sound of the car door opening and someone flopping down beside him brought him out of his reverie.

“Everything good with you two?” he asked.

Liz smiled. “Yeah. We’re good. Me and the best daughter in the world, you know. But we really, really need to talk about the kids and budget.” She let out a long, oblivious sigh over his kicking-up heartrate. “First thing tomorrow, though. I am _wiped_.”

“We do?” Watson said. Liz rolled her head to pin him with a penetrating look.

“Eight hundred dollar gown ring any bells?” she murmured.

“But it was so much cheaper than the car!” Watson protested. “I thought you’d be happy!”

Liz groaned, then laughed. Her face crinkled in that way that stole his heart every time, and he almost missed her next words before yanking his attention back to what she was saying.

“It’s so much more complicated than you’re making it out to be.” She leaned over and silenced his protest with a kiss. “Tomorrow, honey. When we’ve had a chance to _sleep_. I’m not mad—not anymore, anyway—I just want us to iron some things out.”

“All right,” Watson sighed, and tried not to feel crestfallen.

The fact that it was his wedding night and he was gloriously, stupendously full of joy _did_ help.

_6\. Make sure Karen and Andrew don’t feel left out._

Sometimes, a nasty little voice in Watson’s head questioned if this would all be easier if he and Lisa had had an acrimonious divorce instead of an amicable one. If Lisa had been horrible about everything, he could’ve just paid the most expensive divorce lawyer in Connecticut to get him full custody of Karen and Andrew and not felt a smidgeon of guilt about it.

But the end of their marriage wasn’t dramatic. It was slow and small and painful, and stretched over months and years. He and Lisa got married so young, after all. The things they had in common diminished year by year, and parenthood had pushed them further apart, not closer together. Their passionate love had shifted and dripped into an amiable partnership with absolutely no romance almost without Watson’s notice.

If Lisa hadn’t taken the first step towards their separation, he sometimes thought he might have kept on willfully not noticing that he wasn’t fully happy, because what they’d had had been good enough, even if it hadn’t been what he really wanted.

But, _I want someone to be in love with me again,_ she’d said. _I deserve that. **You** deserve that, Watson. _

She'd been right. Some people could have been perfectly and genuinely happy with their arrangement, but neither of _them_ had been. And she’d dragged them into being braver about it the way he hadn’t been able to.

It had still hurt, very much, to dissolve their partnership—he didn’t think divorce was ever really _easy._ But now, looking back on it from where he was with Liz, practically delirious with joy, he knew it was worth it.

Still. Every now and then, just for a moment, he did wonder what it would’ve been like to be selfish. He still hated not getting to be with Karen and Andrew as much—it was agonizing, sometimes, little flicks of a knife in the dark, to remember that there were things he was _missing_ just by not being physically with them. But they’d thought it best that they stayed with Lisa most of the time, since she only worked part-time and could pick them up from school every afternoon, unlike Watson. Two weekends a month was manageable, if not his preference, and was what was best for the kids.

The printed letter with itemized points that lay in front of him told a different story, though. Watson rubbed his hand over his mouth, not knowing whether to laugh or cry with the full, achy feeling in his heart. Karen certainly was a Brewer, all right.

_Dear Daddy,_

_Me and Andrew discussed it and we want to change how much time we’re at the big house and how much time we’re at the little house. When I was at camp I met Ashley and she says she does one week at her mom’s house and the next week at her other mom’s house and so on for each month. So every week she switches. Me and Andrew want to do this. We don’t get to see a lot of things that happen at the big house when we’re at the little house and it makes us feel dreadful. We want to see everyone more. Here are the reasons this is a good idea:_

  1. _We could get a cat at the big house too because right now we can’t because we aren’t there enough. A cockatiel would be ok too._
  2. _As children from a divided home it will make us feel more stable and we won’t be bad kids like some kids are. You don’t want us to end up turning to a life of crime right???? Who knows what could happen if we don’t feel stable. Bad things could happen. I heard a story just yesterday about a girl who was a child of divorce and when she grew up she murdered a lot of people because she was sad and I don’t think you want that to happen to me Daddy. Or Andrew._
  3. _We could see you more Daddy and we wouldn’t miss you as much._
  4. _We also wouldn’t miss things that happen at the big house because we would be there more._
  5. _I can spend time with my REAL SISTER Kristy Thomas and Andrew can spend time with his REAL BROTHERS David Michael Sam and Charlie Thomas. This could only benefit our development I am certain._
  6. _Mommy would have more time for her new business._



_As you can see from the points above this is a great idea and we think you should do it. There are no cons only pros. Please write back by EOD and let us know when we will move forward with our proposal. I am giving Mommy a letter too so you can confer about it._

_Sincerely,_

At the bottom, added in meticulous pencil printing, was a note:

Watson brushed his fingertips over his kids’ signatures, blinking back tears over his blinding smile. It looked like he had a call to make—he had to _confer._

_7\. Make sure they’re supported in school._

Watson frowned at the time on his watch as he heard the rumble of an engine pulling up outside. 9:45pm. “It’s pretty late for Charlie to be getting home, isn’t it?” he asked.

“Mm, he had a late shift today at work,” Liz said. “He told me he’d be on the clock till 9:30. Cleared it with me and everything.”

“But it’s a school night,” Watson protested. “Liz, what if he has to stay up late to finish his homework? You _know_ how important sleep is for teenagers.” He knew she knew—he’d sent her the articles, and they’d agreed on strict end times for lights off and computers/phones shut down because of them.

A look of frustration pinched her delicate brow, and her mouth started to pucker with annoyance—then her face rippled with something else. The expression startled Watson, because he couldn’t quite read it. It was something sad, and old, and— _worn_ , or maybe _weary_. Something bone-tired.

“Honey,” she said, “I’m sure Charlie’s thought of that. You have to understand, he’s been taking late shifts when he could since he turned 15. He knows how to plan around them.”

Watson almost asked, _But why?_ He caught himself right before he did, as the answer came to him like a punch in the gut. Oh. Yeah.

Because they’d needed the money.

Because Charlie hadn’t had a college fund until Liz and Watson had gotten married. Because Charlie had been saving up for three years for a $3000 car that would probably need new brakes in the winter anyway. Watson hadn’t really thought about that too much until he and Liz had talked after the wedding, assuming Charlie had spent most of his money on movies and snacks, or something, but—of course. Of course Charlie would be used to planning around late shifts. His schoolwork for the last few years hadn’t suffered, if his excellent grades were anything to go by.

“Oh,” he said.

“Yeah. Oh,” Liz said. Her features twisted briefly with a clot of misery before they smoothed out. He was reaching out a hand to cup her cheek before he realized it.

 _Sometimes I feel like I was a bad mom, just because we were so poor,_ she’d said to him in their villa in Hawaii. _I had to do things I didn’t want to do so we could get by. And I had to make **them** do things they didn’t want to do._

 _It can be different, now,_ he’d offered, after assuring her in depth that she absolutely was not a bad mom. You only had to take one look at her amazing kids to know that.

_Yeah, it can, and I’m grateful as hell for that, but—honey, that’s always going to be there, for us. It’s always going to be a part of us. And you have to understand that._

“We could increase his allowance,” he said, as the sound of a car door closing came from outside. “Just so he doesn’t have to take late shifts. I really—if there’s something I can do to make it easier for them to focus on school, and it’s okay with you, I want to do that.”

She bit her lip, the same way Sam would, clearly thinking. “You can talk to him about it,” she said finally, quietly, as the door opened and boots and coat were loudly removed, “but _don’t_ tell him he can quit his job. Okay? That’s for him to figure out. I don’t want you to just… throw money at him. He needs to keep his good head.” She blew out a long breath.

“Absolutely,” Watson whispered back, and meant it. He stroked the thin skin under her eye, gently, loving her so much in that moment. She smiled back, a slow little glow of a smile.

“I’m home, so please stop whispering about any gross stuff before I come in any farther,” Charlie called softly from the front door.

Watson and Liz looked at each other and laughed, the moment and tension broken. “We weren’t whispering about anything gross,” Liz called back, “and it’s safe for you to come in.” Watson pulled his hand back to his lap.

“Thank god,” Charlie muttered, and came through to start up the stairs. Watson waited till he was out of sight before leaning forward to give Liz a smiling kiss.

_8\. But remember that they’re still kids and need to take time for having fun, too!_

“You have a babysitting job every day this week?”

“Uh-huh!” Kristy said cheerfully, carefully highlighting a line in her notebook.

“And soccer and rugby practice?”

“Yep.”

“ _And_ you’re helping Claudia stage her exhibition in the park this weekend?”

“Yeah.”

Watson bit back his automatic reaction, which was to ask, _When are you going to have time to have fun?!_ He did what Liz had suggested and stopped to review the facts: chipper voice, upbeat swinging of ponytail, bright-eyed focus. It didn’t seem like Kristy was feeling overwhelmed by all of that on top of schoolwork, even though, as Liz had said to him, _That girl tends to take on a bigger load than a camel in the desert._

“Sounds like a lot of stuff to look forward to,” he tried.

“Oh, absolutely,” she agreed, flipping her notebook closed. “Claudia’s exhibition is going to be _amazing._ You and Mom are coming on Saturday, right?” She speared him with an expectant look. “She’s doing the performance piece on that day, and she really wants a good audience for it.”

Watson felt a smile stealing over his lips. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he said truthfully.

Okay, so she wasn’t outright asking him to do something with her, but this was tangible progress of the kind he never would’ve dreamed of months ago. She was anticipating him and Liz coming somewhere _together_ , and that? That was miles ahead of where he’d been before the wedding. Slowly, slowly, things were maybe starting to come together.

“Good,” she said. She squinted, looking him up and down speculatively, then advised, “You should really wear old clothes. There’s gonna be a _lot_ of paint involved.”

“Duly noted.”

_9\. Have family time at the dinner table EVERY NIGHT._

Watson stared at the array of Chinese takeout bags on the table and the empty seats around them.

“So let me get this straight,” he said. “Karen and Andrew are at Lisa’s this week, Charlie’s on a date, Sam’s at hockey practice, Kristy’s babysitting, and David Michael is at a sleepover?” He’d really been looking forward to catching up with the kids.

Liz gave him a devilish crooked smile, leaning closer so her hair drifted over her shoulder to brush her collarbone. Watson blinked, his cheeks heating.

“Yes,” Liz said. Her beautiful eyes glinted with promise. “Just you and me tonight, honey.”

Well. Maybe the family dinner thing was one point on the Plan that could be modified every now and then.

_10\. Love them._

Watson snuggled closer to Liz, putting his arm around her more securely as they watched the photos in the slideshow flick by. They’d be getting prints of the whole set in a bound album, as agreed upon purchase, but the photographer wanted to know if there were any they wanted blown up for a bigger print. Liz had already suggested sending a print of one of the group shots to each of their mothers, and Watson wanted a big framed 10 x 12 for the living room, at the very least

Liz clicked the slideshow to a stop on one of the photos with a sigh. “I know Kristy looks slightly murderous, but what about this one for your mother?”

Watson snorted at her comment, then looked at the photo critically, trying to imagine seeing it for the first time. Kristy wasn’t _that_ bad—a little tightness around the eyes, and a little insincerity to her smile, but that was it. And since Mom had only met her once, she wouldn’t be able to tell. Andrew’s glasses were crooked, but his smile was sweet, and Karen’s smile was cut-throat actress fake, the way Watson knew she’d practiced in the mirror. Charlie and Sam looked… well, a little constipated, if he was honest, but again, good enough. And David Michael’s smile was bright even if he hadn’t quite mastered the art of looking natural in a photo. On the side, Watson thought he and Liz looked okay, even if his chin was kind of at a weird angle.

One of the kids had been blinking or looking away in most of the earlier pictures, so Watson said, “Yeah, mark it down.”

Liz noted the number and started the slideshow again. The next picture made Watson bark out a surprised laugh, and he urged, “Wait, wait, pause here!”

Liz paused. “Oh my god,” she said faintly.

The uneasy calm of the previous picture had dissolved into chaos in this one. Charlie was still trying to smile politely, but he was also not-so-surreptitiously shoving at Sam, who had abandoned his post to try and give Charlie bunny ears with his fingers. Kristy had burst from her static position to lean forward, clearly attempting to rearrange Karen, who had broken into a dramatic pose with her hand on her forehead. David Michael was watching them with his brow crinkled in worry. Andrew was still beaming at the camera, oblivious; Watson was similarly smiling thoughtlessly; and Liz’s smile had taken on a tinge of desperation, as if she knew she had to get the kids under control but didn’t want to break formation.

Liz snickered beside him, and Watson couldn’t help laughing a little through his smiling tears. He turned to Liz and grinned wider. “It’s perfect,” he said, “that’s the one. That’s the one for the living room.”

She smiled back. “Yeah. That’s our kids in a nutshell, all right.”

Their kids. Watson just smiled even harder.


End file.
